U.S. South Leads Lumber Production

Western Wood Products Assn. reported that U.S. softwood lumber production was 35.165 billion SF in 2019, including 19.365 billion BF produced in the South and 14.254 billion BF produced in the West.

Canadian softwood lumber production was 24.432 billion BF, of which 14.586 billion BF came from east of the Rockies and 9.847 billion BF from British Columbia. However in British Columbia production through May 2020 was 25% less than during the same period in 2019, and it was 9% less from east of the Rockies.

For the five months through May 2020, U.S. softwood lumber production was running less than a percent ahead of 2019, thanks in most part to the South where production was 5% over 2019, while the West was 5% less.

Southern U.S. production in 2019 represented 89% of capacity while it was 81% in the West. British Columbia ran at 74% of capacity, and east of the Rockies at 85%.

In addition, the U.S. imported 14.563 billion BF in 2019, of which 13.056 came from Canada, along with 937MMBF from Europe and 391MMBF from Latin America. The U.S. exported 1.323 billion BF of lumber in 2019 to a range of companies, including 303MMBF to Canada.

While importing 97MMBF of logs in 2019 (of which 77MMBF came from Canada), the U.S. exported 1.294 billion BF of logs, with China on top at 652MMBF followed by Japan, 345MMBF, and Canada, 137MMBF.